Fastening means



July 30, 1929. A. FRIDOLPH FASTENING MEANS Filed Oct.- 11, 1926 Patented July 30, 1929 4. M

UNITED STATES mates Para J5EE.

ANNETTE FRIDOLPH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO A; B. A. SPECIALTIES COIM- PANY INC OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEXV YORK.

FASTENING MEANS.

Application filed October 11, 1926'. Serial No. 140,703.

This invention is a fastening means adapted for a wide variety of uses, and more particularly for garments of one kind or another, wristbands for watches, belts to be worn by men and women, and for such other uses as require a fastening substantially free from exposed metal parts. I

The object is to improve a'fastening whereby the number of parts are minimized, and said fastening is adapted for easy and expeditious coupling and uncoupling, and yet afford a maximum of safety when connected whereby the possibility of accidental separation is effectively precluded.

Among the uses to which my invention is especially adapted, I mention two which are especially desirable, to-wit, a band or bracelet for holding a wrist watch, and a fabric suspender whereby one or a plurality of womens garments may be supported from the shoulders.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the wrist band or bracelet is composed of a length of a narrow fiat fabric provlded with one or a plurality of openings intermediate the ends, said length of fabric being provided with means for appreciably stiffening one end, producing a partwhich for convenient'reference and for want of a better term may be referred to hereafter as a tab,

extending crosswise of the fabric, whereby the stifiened end or tab may be turned for inserting said tab. through one or the other of said openings, afterwhich the stiffened end or tab is turned crosswise of the opening and thus acts to retain the fabric against the possibility of accidental withdrawal orseparation, the fabric being foldable or creasable lengthwise at the point where it passes through the opening.

For adapting the lnvention to the servide of supporting one or a plurality ofundergarments, the suspender is composed'of a length of flat narrow fabric provided with a plurality of tabs, one or more of which are at the end or ends of the fabric, and one or more of which tabs are unitary with the fabric intermediate the ends thereof, said length of fabric being foldable or creasable adjacent each tab whereby to adapt the fabric length for use in conjunction with an opening (one or more) provided in the garment or garments.

Another embodiment is a fastening fora waist belt, the same embodying usually a length of elastic and a plurality of shorter lengths of foldable fabric each unitary with the elastic and each provided. with a'transverse tab whereby the short fabric lengths are c0operable with openings provided in the belt at or near the respective ends thereof.

In a broad aspect,'my invention embodies a length of folda-ble'material such as fabric with a tab transverse to the length thereof,

said tab being composed of a stilfbendable element, usually a piece of metal, encased,

practically, within the fabric and retained frictionally in a permanent connected rela tion to said fabric. Devices usable for a variety of purposes must be composed in part of fabric and in part of a stiffening material constituting with the fabric a relatively rigid tab, said article being detachable and washable when or as may be required, and said article being free, for all practical purposes, of exposed metal parts to avoid the contact of metal with the flesh of the wearer. Accordingly, the article usable for one purposeor another comprises a length of fabric foldable on itself as heretofore mentioned and a tab composed in partof metal and in part of the fabric, the metal or equivalent element being substantially U-shaped in cross section, and" the end of the fabric being inserted within detachable relation, with the stifiening element encased within the fabric, and thus in a simple and economical manner the elements or parts are associated for service without resorting to such expedients as stitching to hold together the parts, and omitting'altogether exposed metal attachments of one form or another to render the device operative, such as demanded in devices which have preceded my invention. Other functions and advantages of my'invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the drawings illustrative of a variety of uses and wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of my invention adapted as a band or bracelet for a wrist, watch,

Fi 'ure 2 is a perspective view of a device usab e as a waist belt.

is a view showing he invention adapted for service as a Suspender whereby a plurality of womens garments may be supported from a shoulder strap.

Figure 4 is a detail plan View of a fastene ing composed of a flexible foldable member the ends of which are stiffened by transverse tabs.

Figure 5 is a plan View of a flexible 1nen1- ber provided with multiple tabs whereby the member is usable as a suspender, as shown in Figure 2.

Figures 6 and 7 are perspective views illustrating the procedure whereby the fabric and metal elements are combined in a manner to encase the metal within the fabric and to connect the said elements permanently without resorting to stitching or other expedients.

Figure 8 is a cross section on an enlarged scale of the tab composed of a metal clamping element and the fabric rolled or doubled for encasing the metal, the latter being com-' pacted by pressure to produce a composite tab of compact dimensions.

The several adaptations of the invention illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3 will be-first described as specific examples of some of theuses to which my invention may be applied, but it will be understood that the invention may be used for a variety of other purposes.

The wrist band or bracelet illustrated in Figure 1 comprises a member or length of flexible material A, such as a fibrous ribbon which is foldable freely upon itself in a direction lengthwise of the ribbon.

At one end the flexible member is providedwith a tab'B, but usually in wrist bands and other articles the respective ends'of said flexible member is provided with tabs, the tab at one end being indicated at B, and the tab at the other endat 0.

Intermediate the ends of the flexible member there is provided appropriate openings,

provided in the material of the flXllOl8II1TD- her in any suitable manner, as-byv punching holes and stitching the openings to provide eyelets unitary with the fabric, in a manner similarto button holes in garments, each opening being thus reinforced at the margina1 edges and the fabric bemgconfined to pre-- elude ravehng.

The openings D, E, are spaced suitably along the fabric and intermediate the edges crosswise of said fabric. Each tab B or C, where two are employed, is of composite formationto be hereinafter described, and said tabs, or either of them, are

insertible through the openings D or E in the attachment of the flexible member A 'to a wrist watch, or in fastening saidmember around the wrist 'of'the wearer.

A wrist watch, or any other article to be worn on the wrist, is shown conventionally at F in Figure 1, and as being provided with unitarykeepers 7 through which are looped,

through said keeper for a desired distance,

whereupon the tab C is inserted through one of the openings-E. The wrist band is thus attachable to the watch or the like, by looping the end portions of the flexible member through the keepers f, and said'band is fastened around the wrist by coupling the tabs to the band by inserting the respective tabs through openings D, E. It is obvious that one looped end of the band may be coupled before the band is placed around the'wrist, after which the other end is coupled to the band for securely fastening the band around the wrist and for securely holding the watch or the like in place, the openings D, E, pro-' tached in adesired manner to the watch,-or I may use the two tabs 13 and connect one tab to an eye (instead of loop f) on the watch, whereas the other tab is coupled by looping the band through the other keeper 7 and passing said other tab through one of the openings in said band; in fact, a single opening may be used in the band, although I consider it preferable to use a plurality of openings, and it is considered preferable, also, to use the two tabs and the two series of openings. This provides for a desirable adjustability of the band and a further function is that while the band is foldable where it is engaged with openings of small diameter, yet the band for the major part of its length remains in a desirable flat condition, the band A and its tabs affording a self-contained article useable for the purposesof a bracelet for wrist watches and the like.

The article in its simplest form is shown in Figure 4, and the mode of producing it is ously, the foldable member may be of a deslred length or width, and composed ofcotsaid member may be creased at the place Where said member passes through and occupies the opening provided in a part, section or element employed as a means for recelvmg the flexible member.

An important part of the present invention is the formation of the tab, the" same being quite compact and of small dimensions, and affording means whereby important functions are attained, including the protection against unraveling of the free edge of the fibrous material, the encasing of the stiffening part or member, the adaptability of the tab for expeditious insertion in the opening to effect the coupling of one part to the other and the removal of said tab with facility in the act of uncoupling one part from the other, and security in the engagement of the tab with the perforated part to the end that the two parts will not become accidentally separated or disengaged.

A practical mode of procedure involves the utilization of a stiffening part J, shown in Figures 6, 7 and 8 as a piece of thin sheet metal channeled in cross section, as a U- shaped piece, the length of said channeled part being appreciably less than the width of the fibrous foldable member Gr, although these relative proportions of G, J, may be varied. In assembling the parts G, J, one

end 9 of the fibrous member G is inserted into or within the channel of the part J, see Figure 6, whereupon the parts G, J, are turned or rotated as in Figure 7 for the fibrous member to encase the metal part exteriorly' thereof, as at 9, after which the fibrous member G is folded or doubled upon itself to produce a part conveniently designated as a loop h which is inserted or tucked within the channel of part J, as depicted in Figures 7 and 8, and finally the assembled parts G, J, are subjected to pressure, as in Figure 8, for the purpose of compacting the metal part J upon the rolled and tucked fibrous partG, whereby to inseparably attachvthe stiffening member J to the fibrous member G, and to effectively encase said stiffening member within the rolled portion of the fabric member. It will be noted that the attachment of the metal part to the fibrous part is effected, first, by inserting the end of the fibrous material into the channel of the metal part, and thereafter by tucking a part of the fibrous member within the channel of the metal part, after the metal part shall have been rolled within the fibrous part, as indicated at g, and then the assembled parts G, J, are subjected to pressure for effecting the permanent union of the two parts, the effect of which compression is to reduce the tab to small dimensions,

thus providing for insertion or withdrawal however, this flexible member is com- V with facility through the opening,and these several functions being secured without resorting in any way to the operation of stitching the parts for effecting the union, and dispensingwholly with exterior and extraneous elements such as buttons, buckles, and other attachments commonly resorted to for the production of. detachable fastenings.

The mode of using the article is to provide openings, such as D, E, in a wrist band of Figure 1, or to provide an opening in a garment, such as underwear shown in Figure 2, or an opening such as 0, p, in a waist belt of Figure 3. 'To couple a part, such as the fibrous member G of Figures l, 6, 7 and 8, to another part provided with an opening, the user grasps the tab, such as H or M, and turns it to a position for thetab topass through the opening, the fibrous part G being free to fold or double on itself so as tooccupy the opening andsuch folded or doubled part of said fibrous member being adjacent the taband extending for an appreciable distance away from the opening. This leaves the stiff tab in a position substantially crosswise of the opening and precludes the accidental separation of the fibrous member from the part or element having the opening, it being a practical impossibility for the tab to become dislodged accidentally from the apertured part such as the wrist band, the garment, or-the waist'belt, or any'other article with which my fastening may be associated. For uncoupling the member G from the apertured part, the operator is required to pull the member slightly through the opening, then turn the tab, and to pass it through the opening,-thus disengaging thetab-formed end of member G from the apertured partto which it was previously connected. The operations of coupling and uncoupling the tab-formed extremity of the fibrous material are required to be performed manually, and while the size and formation 'of the tab-formed end of the librous member are such th at such coupling and uncoupling may be conducted with facility, yet the relation of the fibrousmember and its stiffened tab to the opening in the other part (wrist band, garment, belt, etc.) is such'that accidentally separation in the normal use or service is precluded'to a marked extent.

' As noted heretofore, the article comprising the fibrous member with stiffened tabs may be used as a suspender for a single garment, and it is equally well adapted for suspending a plurality of garments as depicted in Figure 2', for which purposes I prefer to use a multiple tab formed article, as in Figure 5.

As there shown, the flexible member L is pro vided at its ends with tabs I, H, similar to tabs I, H, of Figure l, and in' addition thereto said member L is provided intermediate its ends with a plurality of other tabs such as M, N, Figure 5, the latter comprising doubled parts of member L and channeled metal parts, similar to J, within the channels of which the doubled portions of the fibrous member L are inserted, then the assembled parts rolled to encase the metal parts, and

the assembled parts subjected to pressure for compacting the metal upon the folded fabric,

and thereby unite the assembled fabric and metal in fixed permanent relation. The mode of using the suspender L is apparent from Figure 2. The tabs M, N, are inserted in openings provided in one garment, as 0, whereas the tabs I, H, are inserted in another garment, as P, Figure 2, and thus the single member L is useful for supporting aplurality of garments. Obviously,the suspender L may be readily attached and detached to provide for renewal and laundering the article, and such coupling and uncoupling of the suspender enables suspenders of different colors or types to be interchanged with facility.

Although I have described the article of Figure 5 constructed with multiple tabs as especially designed for supportng a plural ity (two or more) of garments O, P, yet it is apparent that the suspender of Figure 4L with tabs H, I, may also be used for supporting a plurality of. garments, especially is this so with garments composed of thin materials. Obviously, a number of the garments may be provided with holes, through which may be inserted a tab, such as H or I, so that a single suspender with a single tab on each end may be used, and to good advantage, for supporting a plurality of thin garments.

A further adaptation of the improved fastening means is shown in Figure 3, wherein a waist belt 0- is represented as having openings 0, 79, near its respective ends, saidbelt being composed of leather, fibrous material, or any other material suitable for the purpose. In this adaptation, it is preferred to use a length P composed of a suitable elastic material, such as rubber fabric of a kind wellknownin the garment trade, and in other trades. Other lengths Q, R, composed of fibrous foldable materials are attached to the elastic length P at the respective ends there-.

of, each fibrous foldable length, Q, or B, being provided with a stiffened tab as g, 0", constructed as herein described. brous length R is insertible as described in one of the openings 0 of the belt,whereas the tab 9 of length Q is coupled by inserting it into one of holes 29, the tabs g, 7', extending crosswise of the holes. The length P is thus.

detachably connected to the waist belt and affords a yielding connection adapted to'give to the movements of the wearers 'body. The free end of the belt 0 is intended to be retained in a keeper 0 provided on the belt near one of the openings p.

It is to be noted that. my fastening com-- prising the flexible foldable member provided with a stiffened tab crosswise of the member .is a self-contained article free; from The tab 1" of the fi-- buckles, buttons and other extraneous parts. Further, the new article is useable in connection with an opening in either the flexible. member, as in Figure 1, or in an article such as a garment or in a waist belt, the opening so used being small in diameter and the stiffened tab being of less diameter than the opening, whereas the length of the tab exceeds the diameter of the opening, which opening is or may be occupied substantiallyby the folded or creased material of the flexible member.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent'is:

1. In a device of the class described, a fastening means embodying aflexible member composed .of fibrous material and a tab including a channeled compressible member, one'partof said fibrous member being doubled upon-itself and folded within the channeled member and said member being compressedupon said infolded part whereby the fibrous member and the channeled member are inseparably connected.

2. In a device of the class described, a fastening means embodying a flexible member composed of fibrous material, anda tab composed of compressible material of channeled formation, said fibrous material being wrapped around: the tab exteriorly thereof and said fibrous materialbeing doubled upon itself and infolded within the channeled member, the latter beingclamped upon said infolded fibrous material. i

3. A device of the class described, embodying a flexible member and a tab including a compressible stiffener member of channeledformation, said flexible member having .a portion thereof doubled upon itself and infolded within the channel of saidchanneled member,- and said flexible. member beingfolded exteriorly around thestiffened member for encasing the, latter, said stiffener member being compressed upon itselfv and upon the doubled and infolded part of the flexible. 111ember,..whereby the tab. and the flexible member are inseparably united.

i. The method :of makinga flexible fastening device which consist-sin assembling a flexible material and a channeled stiffener member for an end portion of said flexible material to occupy the channel of the stiffener member, folding the flexible member to encase the stiffener member within said folded portions, and compressing the channeled member into clamping engagement withsaid flexible member. V

5. The method of making a flexible fasten ing device which consists in assembling flexible material and a vchanneled stiffener member for an end portion of said flexible material to occupy the channelof the stiffener member, folding-theflexible member to encase the stiffener member, again folding .a part ofthe flexible member andinserting said folded part within the channel of the stiffener member, and compressing the stiffener member into frictional engagement with the folded and inserted parts of the flexible member.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination with a flexible member composed of a single thickness of flexible material, of a channeled stiffener member extending crosswise of the flexible member, said channeled member encasing an infolded and doubled part of the flexible member and being compressed into frictional contact therewith.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination of a channeled stiffener member composed of compressible material, and a flexible member having a doubled part in folded within said channeled member, and clamped into frictional engagement therewith, said flexible member being folded for encasing the channeled member within said folded part.

8. In a device of the class described, a fastening embodying a flexible member composed of a single thickness of pliable material, and a stiffening member, said pliable material being folded exteriorly around the stiflening member and said pliable material having a part thereof doubled upon itself, which doubled part is folded interiorly of the stiffening member and said pliable material and the stiffening member being permanently united by compacting the stiffening member upon the infolded portion of the pliable material.

9. In a device of the class described, a fastening embodying a flexible member composed of a single thickness of pliable material, and a stiffening member of channeled formation, said pliable material being folded around the stiffening member exteriorly thereof for encasing the same and said pliable material having a part doubled upon itself and infolded within the channel of said stiffening member, whereby the stiff ening member is compressiblenpon the infolded part of the pliable material for effecting a permanent union between the fibrous material and the stiflening member with the latter encased by the fibrous material.

10. In a device of the class described, a fastening means embodying a flexible member composed of a single thickness of fibrous material, and a metal tab of channeled formation, said fibrous material having a part doubled upon itself and infolded within the channel of said tab, and said tab being compressible upon said infolded part for eflecting a permanent union of the tab to the fibrous part.

11. A device of the class described embodying a flexible member composed of a single thickness of fibrous material and a metal part positioned crosswise of the fibrous material, a definite portion of said fibrous material being doubled upon itself and said metal part beingcompressed upon the doubled portion of the fibrous material for effecting a permanent connection of the metal part to the fibrous material, said fibrous material being wrapped or folded around the metal part exteriorly thereof for wholly encasing the same. 7

12. The method of making a flexible fastening device which consists in assembling a length of flexible material and a channeled stiffener part, doubling a definite portion of said flexible material upon itself and infolding the same within the channel of said stiffener part, wrapping another definite por tion of the flexible material exteriorly around the stiffener part, and compressing the stiffener part upon said infolded portion of the flexible material. 7

13. A separable fastening of the kind described embodying a channeled metal part and a flexible part composed of a single thickness of fibrous material folded to encase the metal part, said fibrous material having a portion doubled upon itself and infolded within the channel of said metal part and said fibrous material and the metal part being connected by compacting said metal part I upon said infolded material.

14. The method of making a flexible fastening comprising assembling a length of a single ply flexible material and a channeled metal part, encasing the metal part within the flexible material, doubling a portion of said flexible material upon itself and infolding the same Within the channel of said metal part, and compressing the metal part upon the infolded and doubled portion of said flexible material.

15. A separable fastening of the kind specified comprising a flexible member composed of a single thickness of flexible material, and a metal part encased by said flexible material, said flexible material having a definite portion thereof doubled upon itself and said doubled portion being encased interiorly of said metal part and connected permanently therewith by compressing said metal part upon thedoubled portion. a In testimony whereof I have hereto signed my name this 9th day of October, 1926.

ANNETTE FRIDOLPH. 

